1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display module and a plasma display apparatus, and more particularly, to a plasma display module in which a position of an image board can be optimized and by which an external image apparatus can be connected to a plasma display apparatus including the plasma display module, and a plasma display apparatus including the plasma display module.
2. Description of the Related Technology
In general, a plasma display apparatus including a plasma display module is a display apparatus realizing a predetermined image by exciting phosphor materials using ultraviolet radiation generated from a gas discharge. Plasma display apparatuses are considered to be next generation flat panel display apparatuses since they can display high resolution images on a large screen. The plasma display module and apparatus display images using circuits driven at a relatively high voltage due to structural properties thereof. Therefore, many circuit boards are disposed on a rear portion of a chassis of the plasma display module.
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an arrangement of various boards in a conventional plasma display module 100. Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional plasma display module 100 includes an image board 60, an X electrode driving board 20, a Y electrode driving board 10, an address electrode driving board 40, a logic board 50, and a power board 70.
The image board 60 is disposed on a rear portion of a chassis 5, and receives and processes image signals from external devices such as a DVD or a VCR. The X electrode driving board 20 is disposed on the rear portion of the chassis 5, and is electrically connected to X electrodes formed on a plasma display panel to apply driving signals to the X electrodes. In addition, the Y electrode driving board 10 is disposed on the rear portion of the chassis 5, and is electrically connected to Y electrodes formed on the plasma display panel to apply driving signals to the Y electrodes. The address electrode driving board 40 is disposed on the rear portion of the chassis 5, and is electrically connected to address electrodes formed on the plasma display panel to apply driving signals to the address electrodes. The logic board 50 is disposed on the rear portion of the chassis 5, and receives the image signals processed by the image board 60 to generate driving signals corresponding to the image signals. Then, the logic board 50 transmits the driving signals to the Y electrode driving board 10, the X electrode driving board 20, and the address electrode driving board 40. The power board 70 is disposed on the rear portion of the chassis 5, and supplies power to the circuit boards 10, 20 and 40-60.
The X electrode driving board 20, the Y electrode driving board 10, and the address electrode driving board 40 are disposed on left, right, and lower portions of the chassis 5, which are adjacent to the X electrodes, Y electrodes, and the address electrodes, in order to be connected to the X, Y, and address electrodes through the shorted distances. The power board 70 and the logic board 50 are located at a center portion of the chassis 5, and the image board 60 is located above the logic board 50 due to the arrangements of the Y, X and address electrode driving boards 10, 20, and 40.
The image board 60 includes input/output terminals for receiving/transmitting information from/to external apparatuses, for example, video tape recorders (VTRs), digital versatile disks (DVDs), or speakers. Since the image board 60 is disposed above the logic board 50 due to the arrangements of the various driving boards included in the plasma display module, the input/output terminals are exposed to the environment on a rear portion of the plasma display module 100.
Therefore, when a plasma display apparatus including the plasma display module 100 is used, the plasma display apparatus will need to be moved from a wall where it is hung for example, in order to connect external devices to the terminals of the plasma display apparatus. However, since the plasma display apparatus is large and heavy, it is difficult or inconvenient to move the plasma display apparatus for connecting the external devices to the apparatus. In addition, if the plasma display apparatus is hung on a wall, the plasma display apparatus should be separated from the wall in order to connect the external devices to the plasma display apparatus.